Floor finishing machine



C. E. WOODS FLOOR FINISHING MACHINE Filed May 13, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet l ,Zzwenfon 67/17210222. mods,

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Se t. 19, 1933.

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c. E. WOODS FLOOR FINISHING MACHINE Filed May 15, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 19, 1933. c. E. WOODS 1,927,226

FLOOR FINISHING MACHINE Filed May 13, 1927 4 heetsSheet 3 J51 Venfor,

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Sept. 19, 1933. w s 1,927,226

FLOOR FINISHING MACHINE Filed May 13, 1927' 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 II. nllaaprvallarlllllralallr mum ,Zin/anfor,

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Patented Sept. 19, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Woods, deceased, assignor to Julia E. Woods individually, Yeadon, Pa.

Application -May 13,1927. Serial No. 191,008

25 v Claims.

v Ijhe object of the invention is to provide improvements in various types of surface finishing machines,' but more especially inmachines'de signed for waxing doors and similar surfaces in which finishing" material of such nature is used,

' that it'fl0ws more freely and performs its intended function better when heated.

' 'Another object therefore is' to provide broadly in' such machines various means for heating and maintaining the wax, or other material, at substantially a given predetermined temperature, to insure its flowing freely through the channels of the device before it reaches the floor, and its entering the pores of the'fioor surface upon striking the same, as well as insuring a better resulting polish after manipulation by the brushes of the device upon such surface.

' 'A further object is to provide such adevice, comprising a polishing member, an electric motor to drive said member, a reservoir for surface finishing'material, a channel extending through or closely adjacent to said motor and adapted to beheated by the waste heat generatedtherein/and conveying means to lead said material from said reservoir to said channel and from said channel to said polishing member.

Still another object is to provide a form of the device in which a reservoir is carried closely adjacent to the motor and is constantly heated 0 thereby while the latter is in operation, said reservoir; if desired, comprising an integral hollow extension of the motor frame; also, if the waste heat from the motor is not sufficient for the purpose intended. there is provided an electrically energized immersion heater unit which extends into said reservoir preferably below the normal level of the liquid therein, and is energized by electric current supplied thereto preferably in parallel with the motor, and a suitable thermostatic means to control the flow of current through said unit, irrespective of the operation 'of the motor. 7

And a still further object is to provide a form ofthe device wherein there is a combination of an electric motor having a shaft, a polishing member carried by a second shaft, gearing connecting said shafts, a casing surrounding said motor'and said shafts and providing a chamber surrounding said gearing, and a conduit adapted to lead' a liquid or semi-liquid material froma suitable reservoir and into said chamber, where said material is raised in temperature by waste heat conducted thereto by said casing from said motor, and'is stirred and churned into a homogeneous mass before passing from said chamber to be manipulated by said polishing member, said f I material while in saidchamb'er also'serving'a's a lubricant for said gearing. f With these and other objects in mind, the present invention comprises further details of construction and operation, which are fully brought out in' the following description, when read in conjunction-with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevationF'of one embodirr i'en't of the invention showing a" portion of the same in vertical section: Fig. 217s a substantially central vertical transverse section of the samejFig. 3"is a section on the line 3 36f Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the heating coil shown in "Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive; Figf5' is a front elevation of a modified form of thedevice showing a liquid reservoir comprising an in tegral part of the motor and gear casing and also showing an electric immersion heater 1 extending into said reservoir with an electrically operated thermostat adapted to regulatethe'flow of current through said heater; Fig. 6 is'ave'rtical section on the line 66 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a horizontal'section on the line '77 of Fig. 5; Fig. 8 is a vertical section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5; and Fig. 9 is a vertical section of a modified form of the device taken through one of the upwardly extending countershafts of the device and through a reservoir in the handle of the same. Referring to Figsllto 4 inclusive, a finishing device for hardwood floors and similar surfaces comprises a plurality of'brush or other suitable members 10, rotatable in'substantially a common plane and removablymounted through the rnedium of any suitable hollow connection 11, upon the lower end portion of an upwardly extending shaft 12, in turn having an axial bore 13'. Said shaft is rotatably supported by bail bearing'l i or the like within a casing 15, which merges up-' wardly into a housing 16, which housing surrounds a worm gear 17, carried by said'shaft 12, while a worm 18 meshes with said gear and in turn is carried by the shaft 19 of a motor having an armature 20 rotatable within a set of field coils 21. v

The field coils are mounted upon the interior of a substantially cylindrical motor casing 22, providing spaces 23, between said field coils and upon the diametrically] opposite sides of the armature In one of said spaces, particularly when said field coils lie in a horizontal plane, a suitably shaped coil of tubing, such as is shown in Fig. 4, may be positioned, or if said field coils lie in a vertical plane, the uppermost portion of the casing 22 may be cut away to provide a cavity 24, in which such a coil of tubing may be housed, the cavity in such case being normally covered by a removable plate 25 or the like.

In each case said coil comprises a series of substantially parallel sections 26, having a coupling z'z 'ar sneend by whichsaid coil laconnected through the medium of 'a flexible tube 28 to a channel 29 in the depending section oflthe central portion 30 of a yoke, having arms 31 by which it is pivotally mounted at 32 to the substantially unit casing, which includes the motor casing 22, the housing 16, and the shaft casing 15, as well as a canopy 33 and skirt "34, which together cover and substantially surround the rotary finishing member 10.

The central portion 30 of said yoke is pro-' vided with a valve 35, to control the :fiow of; a fluid through the channel 29 from the interior of a preferably tubular handle 36, which com'-' prises .in this instance a reservoir having a diagon'ally upwardly extending and laterally positioned intake aperture 37, provided with a re-' movable ,closure 38. However, instead of this type g i freservoir, any other suitable construction may beemployed, such for instance, as that of employing in inverted position a can or other container, in'which the finishing fluid or wax is sold.

Theopposite end portion of the coil illustrated is divided and leads into diverging channels 39 and 40, correspondingin number to the rotary finishing members 10, and terminating in downwardly extending projections 41, which pass i through a suitable stufiing box 42 in a cap 43 covering the housing 16, and thence preferably throughfa second stufiing box 44 into the upper end of the respective bores 13 in the shafts 12. The. function and operation of this series of tubing is the same, regardless of whether it is positioned ina cavity in the motor casing 22, or wholly within said casing between the field coils 21. v

In short, the liquid or semi-liquid wax or other finishing material from within the reservoir,

passing through the channel 29 and tube 20, is heated within the tubular sections 26 under the influence of the waste heat generated by the electric current within the field coils 21, due to the continual rapidly changing polarity of the magnetic iron cores and of the casing between and surrounding said field coils. .Also, the flow offinishing material as before stated may be manually controlled by the valve 35, or may be automatically regulated by any suitable means such for instance as the centrifugally movable ball valves 45 within the hollow connecting member 11, said ball valves being operative to close the nozzle apertures 46 in said member when the finishing members 10 are stationary, and being operative to shift radially outwardly and thereby to open said apertures as said finishing members commence to rotate.

Referring now to Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8, the structure here illustrated comprises the motor, surrounding casing, and depending canopy and peripheral skirt, beneath which the finishing members 10 operate. However, instead of a relatively high reservoir above the motonand either within or beside the handle 36, the cylindrical motor casing 22 is provided with integral, laterally extending, projections 50 and 51, preferably in line with upper and lower tangents to said casing, and outwardly connected together by an upwardly extending wall 52, which with end walls 53 and 54, incloses a tank adapted to serve as a reserrotate.

Each of the said shafts 59 has an axial bore 60,

communicating through upwardly and diverging bores 61 with a peripheral external groove 62 into "which the liquid material flows from the reservoir. f-Each of said shafts is provided with an anti-friction bearing 63, positioned to one side of the intake tube 57; and with a liquid-tight collar 64, said bearing and collar being operative to minimize the amount of liquid which would otherwise pass by the exterior of each shaft, without entering the bores therein. Each shaft is also provided, as in the previous instance, with a worm gear 17 rotatable within the housing 16, while, however, the upper open end of the housing in this case is closed by means of a suitable plug or cap 65. On theother hand, the lower end of each shaft is provided, as in the previous instance, with a hollow terminal member 11, to which is secured one of the finishing members 10 as hereinbefore described.

One end wall of the reservoir is provided with an aperture 66 through which extends a casing 67, containing an electric heating unit 68 of any suitable construction and the terminal wires 69 and 70 which are connected in parallel with the motor which drives the finishing elements. However, there may beinterposed in either of said terminal wires any suitable type of thermostatic electrical control 71, which may be positioned within a surrounding casing 72 which is secured within a second aperture 73 in a wall of said reservoir. With this construction, after the motor has been in operation for a short time, and particularly when alternating current is in use, the waste heat from the motor passes from the casing 22 and both directly into the finishing material within the reservoir and indirectly into said material, after first'passing into the upper and lower walls 50 and 51 and the end walls 53 and 54 of said reservoir. It is to be understood that this method of raising the temperature of the liquid or semi-liquid finishing material is sufficient for that purpose in many cases and does not require the heat separately applied through the coil 68, nor the regulation of this supplementary heat by means of a thermostat or otherwise.

In fact, it is probably true that only in rela tively large sizes of the device is it necessary to employ the separate heating unit, and it is true that the contents of the reservoir may be heated by means of this unit whether or not the reservoir receives heat also from and as a result of close association with the motor casing and the waste heat generated therein. However, in each case the temperature to which the finishing material is raised to insure the best results upon the surface being treated is determined by properly adjusting the thermostat 71 in well-known manner, so that when theproper temperature is reached the supply of electric current is shut ofi from the heating unit and is again restored when the temperature of the material decreases below a certain previously fixed point.

Furthermore, where both arrangements for heating the material are combined asshown in Figs. 5, 6, '7 and 8, it is possible to first heat the material within the reservoir by means of the aaaaq heate unit .8 a th a t r main n d mne atur by he wa e he t r m th mqtor as hei f des r e 50 tha th s t m h ds may be used independently or conjointly as may be desired.

Referring now to Fig. 9, a form of the device is shown which the vertical section of the shaft 12, brush or the like 10, and surrounding cas ng Prac ic ll the sam as h t shown n Fig. 3, except thatIthe upper'open end of the casins cl sed b a us o cap as is a n in Fi 8. Also. iqu d at r l i w h n a sup imposed reservoir, such for instance as that previqus y ShQW i 2. as being in h a dl o the device, passes by way of a flexible tube 7 5, through a port '16. in the lower portion of the housing 7'7 surround g the worm gears 1'1 upon the shaft 12,. It will be noted that the worm 18, upon the motor shaft 19 also extends into and encases sai sea w t i said u i -v I With structure in mind, t will be seen that the waxymaterial from the reservoir flowing into said housme su roun s a a and w m and finally, after being thoroughly churned and mixed to an even consistency by said gears, and raised in temperature by heat from the motor casing 22 withwhich the walls of the housing 7'7 are contact, passes into and downwardly through the bore 13 and into the hollow end member 11, where its flow is automatically controlled hy means of the ball valves 45 if desired, and thence passes from the nozzle apertures 46 npon the bristles of the brush or similar finish- 1118 8. 31 3 10- Thus I have described and illustrated this invention as. comprising three methods for heating the wax or other finishing material while in its reservoir or while passing from the reservoir to the nozzles which spray it upon the finishing elenients. In each case, however, the waste heat from the motor is employed and in one instance combining therewith a separate source of heat in the form of an electrically energized unit which may be employed independently of or in conjunction with the motor heat as before described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:-

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a motor, a finishing member actuated by said motor, a motor-supporting frame, a reservoir also carried by said frame, means to heat the contents of said reservoir, a conduit adapted to convey finishing material from said reservoir towards said member, a nozzle, and means to automatically regulate the flow of said material from said nozzle in accordance with the operation of said member.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of an electric motor having 9. casing comprising a part of the path of the magnetic field and heated by the variations in current thru the field coils, with a coil of tubing in said casing, and a finishing member actuated by said motor, said coil being adapted to convey finishing material in proximity to, and so as to be heated by, the motor field, whence said material fiows towards said member.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a motor, a finishing member actuated by said motor, a handle for propelling the device, a reservoir car ied by said handle, and a metal conduit leading from said reservoir in proximity to the magnetic flux paths of, and

5. In a device of the character described, the

combination of a motor, a shaft driven by Said motor and having a bore, a finishing member carried by said shatt, a handle to propel the device, a reservoircarried by said handle, a coil of tubing within said motor and adapted to be heated by the waste heat from said motor, a conduit to lead material from said reservoir to said coil, a connection between said coil and the bore in said shaft, and means to control the flow of such material'tln-ough said conduit.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination of a motor, a shaft driven by said motor and haying an axial bore, a finishing member carried by said shaft, a handle to propel the device, a reservoir within said handle, a coil of tubing within said motor and adapted to be heated by the waste heat from said motor, a conduit to lead material from said reservoir to said coil, a valve to regulate the flow of material to said coil, a connection between said coil and the bore in said shaft, a nozzle carried by said shaft, and means to automatically regulate the flow of material from said nozzle in accordance with the operation of said member.

'7. In a device of the character described, the combination of a motor which generates heat within its easing, a reservoir in direct contact with said casing and adapted to be heated by the heat in said motor, a finishing member actuated by said motor, and a channel to lead material from said reservoir through said casing to said member. I

8. In a device of the character described, the combination or a motor which generates heat and is surrounded by a casing, a reservoir having a single wall in direct physical contact with and adapted to be heated by the heat in said casing, a finishing member actuated by said motor, and a channel to lead material from said reservoir towards said member.

9. In a device of the character described, the combination of a motor, a finishing member actuated by said motor, a reservoir having an outlet, a heating unit within and adapted to heat material also within said reservoir, said unit being located near said outlet, and a conduit to lead heated material from said reservoir towards said member.

10. In a device of the character described, the combination of a motor, a finishing member actuated by said motor, a reservoir in direct contact with and adapted to receive waste heat from said motor, an electric unit to initially heat material within said reservoir, a thermostat to automatically stop the flow of electric current in said unit, after heat from said unit and from the motor have raised the temperature of such material to a predetermined degree, and a conduit to lead material from said reservoir towards said member.

11. In a device of the character described, the combination of a motor having a casing, a finishing member actuated by said motor, a reservoir in direct physical contact with said motor, an electric unit'w ithin and operative to initially heat material also within said'reservoir, a thermostat to automatically 'stop the flow of electric current in said unit, after heat from'said unit and from the motor have raised the temperature of such material to a predetermined degree, and a conduit to lead material from said reservoir towards said member.

' 12. In a waxer, a casing having a reservoir chamber therein, a motor within the casing, a Waxing unit driven by said motor, and means within the reservoir chamber for heating the wax.

, i 13.'In a floor waxer, a housing, a motor within the housing, a brush, gearing connecting said motor and said brush, a wax reservoir, means for conveying wax from the reservoir, including one portion within the housing in which portion the wax is heated by waste motor heat after it leaves the reservoir, said portion being of metal and constituting part of a heat conductive path between the motor and the wax in the conduit.

14. The'device of claim 13 in which the portion of'the means lies in close proximity to the field core of the motor to absorb heat generated by the motor.

15. In a compact two brush waxer, a frame including a base plate, a motor cage, a reservoir. and two shaft housings; a shaft within each shaft housing, the two shafts having parallel vertical axes in the lateral center line of the base plate and equi-spaced with respect to the fore and aft centerline, a motor in the cage with its axis parallel to said lateral centerline, on the opposite side from the reservoir, means within the frame for operatively connecting the motor and the shafts, waxing brushes on the shafts supporting the waxer, and means within the frame for initially heating the wax, said means becoming inoperative for heating the wax when the heat delivered from the motor thru the frame to the reservoir reaches a chosen amount.

16. In a Waxer, a motor, a motor casing, a res erv oir one wall of which is a wall of the motor casing, a resistance element within the reservoir for initially heating the wax, and a thermostat controlled switch for disconnecting the element when the heat thru the common wall sufficiently heats the wax.

1'7. In an electric motor driven waxing and polishing machine, a reservoir for holding wax for said machine, a brush connected to be driven by the motor, a passageway leading from said reservoir to said brushfpart of themeta l surface touched by undelivered wax being arranged in close proximity to the magnetic paths of the mo tor flux whereby part of the heat generated by the motor currentis utilized to heat the wax.

18. In'a floor waxing machine, "a brush, a reservoir for holding the'wax, a wax carrying passageway between the reservoir and brush'; "an electric motor for driving the brush,' path s for the motor current including the motor windings.

part of said paths being so positioned with re spect, to the wax containing elements that the wax carried by the machine is warmed by heat generated in saidp'aths, whereby a freely flowing fluid is delivered to thebrush'. 19. The device of claim' 18 having additional means for warming 'the wax,'comprising an electric" heating coil connected in parallel with said motor. j l

20. The device of claim 18 having auxiliary means for" warming the wax consisting of a resistance coilfc'onnectedln parallel'with said motor, a thermostat in series with said coil and arranged in heat transfer'relation with'said'wax whereby the auxiliary means is disconnectedafter the wax attains a certain .te!np'eratiire.

21'. A'machine' for applying liquid to a surface, an 1 electric motor fordr'iving's'aid machine and means for heating the liquid, said nieans comprising part'of the paths of the motor'flux.

22. In an electric motor driven surface finishing machine, a finishing member actuated by the motor, a reservoir for carrying a material to be applied to a surface to. be finished, means for carrying the 'materialfroin the reservoir to' the surface, and means for heating said material in proportion'to theamount of electricpower delivered to said motor. f: I

23. The machine of cl'aim' l22in which said meansis adapted toheat the material after it leaves the reservoir.

24. The machine of "clai rn' 22 in which means is adapted toheat the reservoir. 25. In a floor'waxer, a housing, a motor within the housing, a brush, gearing connecting said motor and said brush,- a wax reservoir, means for conveying wax from the reservoir, including one portion within the housing in which portion the wax is heated by motor said ing a part of the gearing.

CLINTON E. woons. 

